Q. 176. Give us the source of information on that question. Your source of information.-A. Well, I can't say just who stated that now.

Q. 177. Was it a Democratic rumor?-A. I will have to study that a little. I am not sure but that you informed me.

Q. 178. You don't say that I told you that his residence was in Des Moines; that he claimed it was?-A. Well, it was some Republican. I heard it prior to the election. Q. 179. You have no distinct recollection as to the source of your information in regard to the subject?-A. No, sir; I am pretty confident it was some Republican. Q. 180. Who was it?-A. I can't name the party; it has slipped my mind.

Q. 181. Now, then, upon the fact with reference to his intention, from your knowledge of law, you determine his local residence was in Des Moines?-A. I consider that he was a citizen and resident of Des Moines.

Q. 182. That is derived from your legal knowledge as applied to the facts?-A. Yes, sir; all my knowledge, legal knowledge and all.

Q.183. Do you claim to know anything about the fact?-A. I have stated all that I know about it.

Q. 184. I want to know whether you are willing to put on the record as knowing anything of the facts in regard to the matter? I will put it in this form: Do you claim to have any personal knowledge of the facts you stated; that he sent his children to school, and declined to pay tuition fees? You grant his residence was in Des Moines. Do you claim to have any reliable information on that subject?-A. You mean as to his refusal to pay on that account?

Q.185. Yes, sir.-A. It has been generally understood that his children attended public school there.

Q. 186. That is not the question at all. I want to know whether you claim it is so, or whether you claim to have any reliable information that he seat his children to the public school, and refused to pay tuition on the ground that he was a resident of Des Moines?-A. I have never looked into that matter at all; never have been there to inquire. I think that it is probably correct, and the case should be inquired into. I do not know to my knowledge that these are the facts.

Q. 187. You are a lawyer; you have read law?-A. Some.

Q. 183. Been admitted to the bar?-A. That is a very easy matter.

Q. 1-9. You have been admitted to the bar?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. 190. You claim now to be an attorney at law; have been admitted to the bar and in good standing at the bar. I don't ask you in reference to business. Do you claim to be in good standing at the bar of Benton County?—A. I have not practiced law; I don't know whether that throws a man out or not.

Q. 191. Are you willing to say that you do not know the difference between claiming to have reliable information and knowledge as a lawyer and witness also?—A. I have no reliable evidence to substantiate it.

Q. 192. Would not information be very different from personal knowledge of the fact-A. Pointed evidence to back it would of course be better.

Q. 193. I will ask you whether you had it from any person who claimed to know that it was a fact that Sherman sent his children to the public school and refused to pay tuition on the ground that he was a resident of Des Moines?-A. No, sir; only general information. I do not claim anything else.

Q. 194. Do you claim to have it from any person that claimed to know the facts?— A. They tell it just as if they knew it.

Q. 195. Who was it that told you?-A. That is what I am trying to think.

Q. 196. Was it the invisible somebody?-A. I cannot say who told me. Judge McPortney opposed his voting here on the ground that he was a resident-left a written challenge at the same time there at the polls. I do not know but what he might have been the party who made the statement. I am not sure of it.

Redirect cross-examination:

Q.197. You may state whether in your judgment, that John Shane, at the time of the November election, was in a condition to transact ordinary business as he was accustomed to do?-A. No, sir; I think he was not in a condition to transact it as he formerly had done.

Q. 198. Did B. R. Sherman's family, during the time of the year between the time he quit the office of State auditor, at the time of his election as governor, reside here, as counting the residence a home, or simply here as a visitor?-A. At the time they were here a brother-in-law, M. Colcard I believe, kept his residence property here, and while they were here they stayed there and visited other persons and relatives here. Possibly might have stayed a part of the time at the hotel taking meals, but am not sure of that. They moved no furniture here from Des Moines that I have ever heard of.

Q. 199. What time did he sell his home here, as near as you can remember?-A. I think it was sold since he was governor.

Q. 200. Before or since the election ?-A. Since the election, I think.

Q. 201. Before or since the election last fall?-A. It was before the election.

E. A. PYNE.

STATE OF IOWA,

Benton County, 88:

SAMUEL LOWE, being produced and sworn before G. W. Burnham, notary public for Benton County, on this 27th day of Feb., A. D. 1883, and examined before me, testifies as follows (T. Brown appearing on the part of contestant, Nichols and Burnham on part of contestee):

Q. 1. What is your name, age, place of residence, and occupation?—A. My age is 53; I live in Taylor township, and am a farmer.

Q. 2. Do you hold any official position in the county?-A. I am now steward of the poor-farm.

Q. 3. Are you acquainted with Joseph Arrowood?-A. Yes, sir; for 25 years.
Q. 4. Is he an inmate of the poorhouse in this county?-A. Yes, sir.

Q5. What is his mental capacity for transacting business?-A. Mr. Arrowood is a man whose mind, if it had been affected by insanity, he is far above the average of those I have got.

Q. 6. That is not the question.-A. I hardly know how to answer it. He makes a very good kind of a hand. He is fatting 60 or 70 of the fattest hogs ever sent from this country.

Q. 7. I asked you his capacity for doing general business.-A. I don't hardly know what you mean.

Q. 8. I mean carrying on business for himself.-A. He says he can not do it; people would not pay him for it. He said that he had more trouble to get his pay than it was worth.

Q. 9. You think he is not incapable of carrying on business for himself?—A. No, sir; can not carry on farming for himself.

Q. 10. Now, is there any business that you know of that he could take hold of?— A. I don't know that there is; I don't know of any thing that he could do.

Q. 11. Do you regard him as a man deficient in intelligence, as compared with the ordinary man in this country?-A. Yes, sir; he is deficient in intelligence to a certain extent. I have half a dozen others below him yet.

Q. 12. You mean there is a lower grade of intellect on the poor-farm?-A. Yes, sir; and ontside, too.

Q. 13. Now, state if you know whether he voted at the Nov. election, '82 ?—A. Yes, sir. Two or three days before election I came into town, and took back a handful of Democratic and a handful of Republican tickets, and said "Boys, choose which you please." I did not tell them which I was going to vote. How he voted I don't know. I took him, in company with four or five others, and turned them loose. I don't know how they voted.

Q. 14. He has been under subpoena, has he not?-A. Yes, sir, he has; right here in town.

Q. 15. You are a Republican, are you not?-A. Yes, sir; I am.

SAMUEL LOWE.

It is here expressly agreed between Messrs. Nichols & Burnham, att'ys for contestee, and Mr. Brown, att'y for contestant, in this case, that Mr. Eldon Moran, commissioner agreed upon to take testimony, shall administer the oath to the witness, and that such oath shall be regarded as sufficient.

STATE OF IOWA,

Benton County, 88:

J. C. PARMETER being produced and sworn before G. W. Burnham, a notary public for Benton County, on this 27th day of Feb., and examined before me, testifies as follows (T. Brown appearing on the part of contestant, Nichols and Burnham on part of contestee):

Q. 1. What is your name, age, place of residence, and occupation?-A. My name is J. S. Parmeter; age 56; reside in Taylor Township, Benton County, Iowa.

Q. 2. Were you present at the Nov. election, '82, in Taylor Township?-A. Yes, sir; I was.

Q. 3. Do you know Joseph Arrowood?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. 4. Do you know whether he voted at the Nov. election, '82?—A. Yes, sir; I think he did.

Q. 5. Did you know for whom he voted for Congressman ?—A. I cannot swear to that.

Q. 6. Do you know whether he voted the Republican ticket?-A. My impression is that he did.

Q. 7. What is his mental capacity; what was it? Did you know his mental capacity before the Nov. election, '82, and at that time, as being a man of sound or unsound mind?-A. I have known him over 20 years.

Q. 8. How near do you live to him?-A. Part of the time within a mile, part of the time two miles.

Q.9. Is he a man of sound or unsound mind?-A. I would consider him far below the average.

Q. 10. Is he capable of doing ordinary business?-A. No, sir.

Q. 11. Where does he live?-A. He is now at the poor-house, has been for the last two years; I think perhaps more.

Q. 12. What is his mental difficulty, general weakness, or what ?-A. General weakness or what, yes, sir; rather bordering on the idiotic. I do not consider that he would know enough to vote unless directed.

Q. 13. Who came to the election with him?-A. Mr. Lowe, overseer of the poorfarm.

Q. 14. What are his politics?-A. Republican, I believe.

Cross-examination:

Q. 15. Mr. Arrowood is capable of doing work?-A. Yes, sir; some, when told. Q. 16. His condition is such that he could be brought here if summoned, could he not -A. You mean afoot and alone?

Q. 17. Yes, sir.-A. I think that he would.

Q. 18. How far is it from here to the poor-farm?-A. About two miles.

Q. 19. You do not know of any reason why he could not come down here if called upon-A. How do you mean?

Q. 20. I mean that he could be present at this examination if called upon; do you know any reason why he could not?-A. No, sir; I suppose he might come here if told. I don't know whether he could find the office or not.

Q. 21. How do you know what ticket he voted ?-A. I don't know, sir.

Q. 22. Is he not intelligent enough to tell what ticket he voted ?—A. I think not. Q. 23. Why don't you think so?-A. Because I don't think he has sense enough to tell the difference between Republican and Democratic tickets.

Q. 24. Can he read?-A. My impression is that he can.

Q. 25. Do you know positively ?-A. No, sir; my impression is that he can.

Q. 26. Do you suppose that if you asked him he could tell whether or not he could-A. I think he could, certainly.

Q. 27. Would he know what you meant when you would ask him if he could read ?—— A. Yes, sir; I think he would know that much.

Q. 2. Do you think he is absolutely void of memory, so that he could not remember anything at all?-A. No, sir; he can remember some things.

Q. 29. He can remember some things pretty well, can he ?---Ă. I don't know why he should not.

Q. 30. Do you know from conversation with him whether he can remember for whom he has worked for some little time back, or where he has lived?-A. Yes, sir; he can tell that.

Q. 31. Can he remember the man's name?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. 32. He would be likely to remember to vote the Republican ticket, and he would remember if he voted it or not?-A. Yes, sir; still I don't know whether he would remember if he voted the Republican ticket.

Q. 33. He would be likely to remember whether he voted as he was told, would he not-A. I don't know whether he would or not.

Q. 34. You did not see his ticket?-A. I did not.

Q. 35. You did not hear anybody say that they knew how he voted?-A. Not that I recollect.

Q. 36. With whom did he come?-A. Mr. Lowe.

Redirect examination:

Q. 37. Is he capable of doing any ordinary business?---A. No, sir.

Q. 38. In buying or disposing of property?-A. No, sir.

STATE OF IOWA,

Benton County, 88:

J. C. PARMETER.

MICHAEL DONELAN, being produced and sworn before G. W. Burnham, notary public for Benton County, on this 27th day of Feb., 1883, and examined before me, testifies as follows (T. Brown appearing on the part of contestant, Nichols and Burnham on part of contestee):

Q. 1. What is your name, age, place of residence, and occupation?—A. My name is Michael Donelan; grocer at present.

Q. 2. Were you one of the judges of the election of Vinton Township, Benton County, Iowa, in Nov., 1882 7-A. Yes, sir.

Q. 3. Were you present at the said élection during the time the electors were hav

ing a canvass of the votes Nov., 1882, at which the electors voted for Representative in Congress?-A. Yes, sir; most of the time.

Q. 4. State who assisted at the canvass of the votes at your election, if any other than trustees and clerks ?-A. Mr. Colcord assisted in reading for a time; Mr. Steanman, of Vinton, assisted the clerk for a time.

Q. 5. What were their politics?—A. I believe Republican.

Q. 6. How were the ballots at said election left when placed in the box after the canvass of votes?-A. They were left strung on to a cord or string.

Q. 7. Have you since examined the ballots cast at said election; if so, how did their appearance correspond with the appearance they were in at said election after they had counted the votes?-A. I examined them to-day; they appeared to be in the same condition in which I left them.

Q. 8. Upon the recanvass of them to-day for the office of Representative in Congress, did you find any error in your former count made at the Nov. election, '82?—A. We found a discrepancy of two.

Q. 9. In whose favor was the discrepancy of two?-A. It was given Mr. Wilson; the first discrepancy would be in favor of him and the second against him.

Q. 10. Was he counted with more votes than the ballots showed that he received; if so, how many more ?-A. We found to-day that he was counted with two more.

Q. 11. You may state whether at said election there was a ballot in the box that you counted out that you found was not strung?-A. You mean to-day?

Q. 12. Yes, sir; are there any ballots that you did not string at the election that you do not find now in the ballot-box ?-A. We did not find any but what had been strung; there was one that had slipped off after we had taken it out.

Q. 13. State how many ballots you found in the box, and how does it compare with the number originally voted?-A. We found one ballot there of the original vote. Q. 14. Do you remember of a ballot voted in which the number voted had one vote for a township office?-A. Yes, sir, I think there was one.

Q. 15. Did you notice that vote was not on the string to-day?—A. No, sir, I did not see it to-day.

Q. 16. Do you remember the party voting that ballot, that he did not vote for the office of Representative in Congress?-A. No, sir, only the township, as near as I can recollect. Q. 17. Do you remember whether that ballot was strung or not?—A. Yes, sir, I presume so; I did not string them.

Q. 18. Are you satisfied that the count you made to-day is correct?-A. From the ballots found it was correct as near as I can see.

Q. 19. Are you satisfied that you found all the ballots that were originally cast for Representative in Congress?-A. I believe I am, sir.

Q. 20. At the time of the election did you find any discrepancy as to other candidates that were voted for; any errors that were made?-A. Yes, sir, we did.

Q. 21. For what officers?-A. For the office of recorder and justice of the peace.

Q. 22. How many for each ?--A. I think one ballot for one and two for the other; and in office of justice of the peace one, and one for the office of recorder.

Q. 23. Was it not five or ten votes?-A. I mean one or two tallies.

Q. 24. How did you count the votes, by fives or tens?-A. No, sir, in fives and ones, where we had good straight tickets that counted for tallies. All the erased tickets were counted singly; all of us read the tallies, so as to have them right.

Q. 25. Were there a good many people around during the time the votes were tallied after the general election ?—A. Yes, sir, a good many, part of the time.

Q. 26. The count to-day was made more carefully than at the time of the election! -A. I don't think it was made any more carefully than it was at first; still we might find an error there yet; we had to read them in the night time.

Q. 27. Well, for the office of Representative in Congress, it has been made carefully to-day in view of the fact that it was daylight. You lack one for that office ?—A. Yes, sir, I suppose so.

($.85 as fee paid by contestant.)

M. DONELAN.

C. M. EVANS, being produced and sworn before G. H. Burnham, notary public for Benton County, on this 27th day of February, A. D. 1883, and examined before me, testifies as follows (T. Brown appearing on the part of contestant and Nichols and Burnham on part of contestee):

Q. 1. Are you auditor of Benton County, Iowa ?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. 2. How long have you filled that office?-A. Since Jan. 3rd, 1870.

Q. 3. You may state if you have in your possession returns made in the different townships of Benton County at the November election of which the board of supervisors of Benton County made an abstract of returns to the board of canvassers from

this city-A. They were there when I was taken ill, five weeks ago (having examined ballot-box which was just brought in).

Q. 4. Well, look at the return made by the board of township canvassers of the township of Vinton, and read to the commissioner, so that he may take it down, the entries showing the votes cast as returned for the office of Representative of Congress for each candidate.-A. The clerk has brought me township book instead of city book. My clerk has gone after the other one-the poll-book which is returned for the office of Representative in Congress for the 5th dist. There were 645 ballots cast, of which James Wilson had 401 votes, Benjamin T. Frederick had 225 votes, David Platner had 19.

Q. 5. You may state if the poll-book shows that James Arrowwood and Samuel Lowe voted at the Nov. election, 1882?

(Witness examines poll-book of Taylor Township.)

A. Yes, sir; they are these, the 120 and 122 votes that were cast.

Q. 6. Was the abstract of the votes which was certified by the city canvassers the same that is shown by that poll-book?—A. Yes, sir.

($.85 paid.)

STATE OF IOWA,

Benton County, 88:

C. M. EVANS.

W. P. WHIPPLE, being produced and sworn before G. W. Burnham, a notary public for Benton Co., on this 27th day of Feb., A. D. 1883, testifies as follows (T. Brown appearing on the part of contestant, Nichols and Burnham appearing on the part of the contestee):

Q. 1. What is your name, age, place of residence, and occupation?—A. W. P. Whipple; 20 years old; live in Vinton; attorney-at-law.

Q. 2. Are you one of the clerks of Vinton Township precinct, Benton Co. ?—A. I was during the year 1882.

Q. 3. Have you the ballots used at the Nov. election, in the year 1882, in your possession, with the poll-book of that township, in which the electors voted for the office of Representative in Congress in this precinct?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. 4. How and where has the ballot-box been kept since the time of the election?A. The ballot-box has been kept in the law office of Whipple and Shunk.

Q. 5. How has it been fastened?-A. It has been fastened with a screw on the upper side running through the lid into the box.

Q. 6. Has the box been sealed?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. 7. Does that box contain the same ballots now that were cast during the election in Nov., 18827-A. I think that it does.

Q. 8. Have the ballots in that box been examined at any time since the election?— A. Yes, sir; once to my knowledge.

Q. 9. In whose presence?-A. In my presence; also in the presence of Mr. Shunk and Pyne.

Q. 10. Where had it been kept previous to that time?-A. In the law office of Whipple and Shunk.

Q. 11. Who had access to it to your knowledge?—A. Mr. Shunk and myself; that is, we had all the keys to the office, but I don't know that anybody ever examined it at any other time.

Q. 12. Have you any reason to think that anybody examined it at any other time, or had access to the ballots?-A. I think not; they might have had access to it and might have examined the ballots, but I don't know.

Q. 13. How were the ballots left as to being strung or unstrung ?-A. They were strung.

Q. 14. You may state if the law office of Whipple and Shunk has been locked when you didn't occupy the same?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. 15. And the ballot box might have been examined without your knowledge or the knowledge of your partner during the time it has been there in the office?—A. I think not.

Q. 16. Where is Mr. Shunk now?-A. He is in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory.
Q. 17. Is he to be absent long?-A. I don't know; he and I have dissolved.

Q. 18. Do you know of his having observed the ballots other than at the time it was opened in your office?-A. I don't know.

Q. 19. At the time you examined the ballots did they have the same appearance as to the manner in which they were fastened that they did have upon the night of the election after the box was closed and the ballots put in there the night of the canvass?-A. Yes, sir; they had the same appearance.

Q. 20. Will you open the ballot-box in the presence of the notary and call to your assistance the other clerk or one of the trustees present at the election and examine and count the ballots for the office of Representative in Congress, and tell the commis